TRAVEL : Selfish things other passengers do to make their travel better

To travel comfortably on the plane, train or bus, some people come up with weird tricks that make the journey worse for others. PHOTOI FILE.

What you need to know:

  • I met a guy who says he gets two seats for the price of one on long train rides. His trick is to buy beer in the station, puts a few cans on the tray table, and stare like a fake drunk at whoever starts to sit next to him. Result: He spreads out; everyone else crams in elsewhere.

Once upon a time, they say, business travel was fun. Now it’s cutthroat. It’s not just what the airlines and rental car companies are doing to us. It’s what we’re doing to each other.

I met a guy who says he gets two seats for the price of one on long train rides. His trick is to buy beer in the station, puts a few cans on the tray table, and stare like a fake drunk at whoever starts to sit next to him. Result: He spreads out; everyone else crams in elsewhere.

We live in a sorry-not-sorry world, it seems, so I wondered if there was more stuff like this going on. I started asking around.

Here are some of the other self-serving tricks I learned about. Many are tactics for trying to get more room on airplanes, trains, and busses by encouraging others to skip the empty seats next to them. I’ve ranked them backwards, in order of how annoyed I suspect you’d be to learn the passenger in line in front of you was using them.

Scare off other passengers by faking a fight

Several passengers I contacted admit to putting down bags or papers in hopes that people like you would be dissuaded from asking them to move. But some travelers use more creative tactics. Take Laura Cody, a travel blogger and YouTuber, who says she and her fiancé stage fake fights to ward off other travelers.

“We pretend to argue just loud enough that other people know what’s going on,” Cody says. “We then usually take three seats if it’s a plane (that’s not fully booked) or four seats if it’s a bus and our excuse is that we need some space away from each other for a while.”

Block the seat in front of them...

Several people suggest using the Knee Defender. The problem is that it’s not allowed on many flights. So some passengers use a less-obvious method.

Kallen Diggs, author of the book, Reaching the Finish Line, says he skips the controversial device and instead uses a “steel carry-on” bag that happens to fit exactly between his seat and the seat in front of him. “The tight fit prevents the person in front of me from reclining their seat.”

...Or recline before anyone can block them

Call this one a preemptive recline: “The flight attendants come through and make you move your seat to its upright position,” said this traveler. “As soon as the plane leaves the ground, I lean back before the person behind me can stop me. That way you have gravity working with you. It might even break the [Knee Defender].”

Carry something sharp and dangerous

This one is more of a commuter’s trick than a business traveler’s trick, but working in New York City, I can see where Meghan Calak is coming from:

“The L train that runs from Manhattan to Brooklyn it is almost always unbearably crowded,” writes Calak, who says she’s traveling the world these days but used to work at LinkedIn. “One of the best ways that I’ve found to keep my personal space during rush hour is to bring along a small potted cactus and hold it in front of me. .... No one dares bump into me.”

Look for stuff to complain about

Elizabeth Aldrich, who used to fly weekly for her corporate job but now travels a lot for pleasure, has two tricks. The first Is to be on the lookout for things to complain about.

For example, she says, “if anything isn’t functioning with my seat (the in-flight entertainment doesn’t turn on, or the seat won’t recline), I make sure to (nicely) complain. Usually they will give me a drink ticket or two. Once I even scored an upgraded seat.”

Fib for free booze

Here’s Elizabeth’s other trick. While just about every travel advice article suggests not drinking alcohol on flights, that advice crashes right into reality when you start asking people what they really do. For example, they like to drink.

“I am all about getting free alcoholic beverages on long flights,” Alrich says. “It’s actually incredibly easy to get flight attendants to ‘forget’ to charge you for your drink orders. ... On redeyes, I casually drop that it’s my birthday ... The more shameless version of this, which I have tried once, is to look sad and say you’re going to a funeral.”

Build a privacy screen

I’ve never seen anything like this, but it would be kind of a weird idea to make up, so I’m going to pass it along. Sebastien Dupere, CEO of Dupray, which sells steam cleaners and steam irons, says he carries a small roll of duct tape with him.

“I tape my blanket to the ceiling to create a ‘screen’ or ‘barrier’ [against] the person sitting in the middle seat (I always sit window!). It gives me the peace, quiet, darkness, and privacy that I need,” he says.

Cut to the front of the taxi line

This one is for saving time when you reach your destination, need a taxi, and find there’s a long line for the cab stand (assuming for whatever reason you can’t use Uber).

“Forget this,” says Travis Bennett, founder of Nomad Stack. “Rip the airline tags off your baggage and head to the departures section of the airport. ... If security asks what you’re doing, I tell them I need to meet my wife. Now you’ve just got to hang back until a cab drops another passenger off. Once they’re sorted, say hi to the cab driver and ask if they can take you. Nine times out of 10 they’ll be more than willing, and you’ll be in a cab en route to your hotel in under five minutes.”